Description:

Finally, a robots book for people who don't know the first thing about robotics! Absolute Beginner's Guide to Robots is well-written, inviting, and action-packed, with engaging ideas and fascinating factoids about robots and robot-related arts and sciences. You are led gently into the intimidating world of robotics, but nearly 400 pages later, you emerge with a respectable knowledge of robot history, the major fields and "schools" of robotics today, and the basic skills and resources needed to create hobby robots. By the end of the book, you will be the proud owner of three bots, the first two of which demonstrate key robotic principles. The third is a programmable/expandable robot, which serves as a platform for future experimentation. And best of all, these robots are built with simple to get and inexpensive parts - many of which you already have around the house!

This unique book was created for those who want to extend the power of Photoshop Elements and enjoy the valuable functionality found in advanced image editors. Topics covered include professional color correction, complex image alterations, readying for the web and print, and much more.

We humans are born with an inner drive to explore the nature of our surroundings. As young men, both Kevin Mitnick and I were intensely curious about the world and eager to prove ourselves. We were rewarded often in our attempts to learn new things, solve puzzles, and win at games. But at the same time, the world around us taught us rules of behavior that constrained our inner urge toward free exploration. For our boldest scientists and technological entrepreneurs, as well as for people like Kevin Mitnick, following this inner urge offers the greatest thrills, letting us accomplish things that others believe cannot be done.
Kevin Mitnick is one of the finest people I know. Ask him, and he will say forthrightly that what he used to do - social engineering - involes conning people. But Kevin is no longer a social engineer. And even when he was, his motive never was to enrich himself or damage others. That's not to say that there aren't dangerous and destructive criminals out there who use social engineering to cause real harm. In fact, that's exactly why Kevin wrote this book - to warn you about them.

Heavily illustrated with color graphics, this introductory textbook discusses the basics behind computer animation, spending more time on technical issues than compositional ones. Kuperberg (School of Media, Arts, and Technology, West Herts College, UK) and collaborators present chapters covering tools and techniques, technical constraints, stages of creating 3D animation, animation for multimedia, artwork for computer games, television animation case studies, and narrative and characterization. The material is not specific to any particular hardware or software.